The Real Kenny
by Izzy6mangalife
Summary: Kenny has a secret. A secret she will never tell to a living soul. She's not a boy, and she's not Kenny. As Kenny goes on living her life of lies, trying to hide her gender from her best friend, she gets a blast of the past: after eight years, the real Kenny has returned... And he wants his life back. Original idea belongs to Okhsa.
1. The switch

A/N: My second fic. Before anyone says anything I'd like to point out that the "Kenny as a girl" idea belongs to Okhsa, and I was inspired by her "Behind the hood" (read that too, you guys!). If she says she doesn't want me taking her idea, this story will be cancelled. So, if anyone cares, cross your fingers. Please review, or else this story will whither away and die.

Obviously I own nothing.

This is just the intro/backstory, things get started in the next chapter.

The Real Kenny McCormick

It was her little secret. The secret she'd never tell a living soul.

She hated it. It made her feel so... dirty. It was all a lie. This whole life was a lie.

She wasn't Kenny McCormick. That wasn't her name, that wasn't her family. It was all a lie.

Kenny wasn't even a "he".

Kenny was a girl. She'd lived a lie her entire life. It had been so long, she'd almost forgotten why she pretended she was Kenny McCormick, hiding behind the protection of an orange hood, speaking only when her voice would be too muffled for anyone else to discover it wasn't deep enough to belong to a teenage boy.

She almost forgot. Because it was impossible for her to forget, even after so many years.

Kenny... That wasn't her name. But then again, she had no name in the first place.

She was an orphan. She'd grown up in the town orphanage, secluded from the other children. She'd never liked being around other people. Until she'd met the real Kenny McCormick.

His mother had worked there for a few weeks, and each day she would see Kenny, stuffed in his orange parka. He'd approached her, and the two had immediately become friends.

After a few weeks, his mother had stopped working there... But Kenny had kept visiting her, day after day, for years.

Then, the unthinkable.

The switch.

It had been Kenny's idea at first. The two were eight years old at the time, and already he couldn't stand his family anymore. Also, he knew how much she wanted to get away from the crummy orphanage. So he'd proposed a switch. She would go to live with the McCormicks, and Kenny would take her place in the orphanage.

It was madness. And yet, the two really were quite similar. Blonde hair, blue eyes, roughly the same height, and with no telltale signs of being one gender or another other than the voice, which wouldn't be a problem for her and Kenny could easily imitate.

"We're going to go to the bathroom and exchange clothes. We'll stay here together a little while longer, then you'll leave when mom gets back. We meet back here next week at anytime and change back." Kenny had whispered.

The orphan had nodded gravely.

"Now... Are you sure you can handle it? My family's hard to bear..." he'd warned her.

"I'll be fine." she'd whispered back.

It was on.

Everything had gone as planned... They'd switched, and later the fake Kenny had gone to what was to be her home for a week.

But it wasn't only for a week. Her stay was destined to be much, much longer.

She'd come back to the orphanage the next week, having lived a happy yet short-lived life in the shoes of Kenny McCormick, with a real family and real friends.

Even though melancholic, she was ready to change back to her own modest and solitary life.

But Kenny hadn't been there to switch back. In that one, short week, the impossible had happened.

She'd been adopted.

Or better, Kenny had been adopted.

With no indications about where he'd gone and what his new name would be (_my name_, she thought), there had been little she could do about it.

She'd stolen his life. Kenny had been her only friend, and had always supported her... And she'd stolen everything he had. It tormented her.

And yet, even though the guilt drove her mad at first... She had become Kenny. Kenny's life was her life now. After so many years, she had a hard time believing her life had ever been different.

This was the worst part: she enjoyed every minute of it... And wouldn't have given it up for anything in the world.


	2. Craig

Chapter 2

Kenny opened her eyes for a brief moment, but her eyelids were too heavy to keep open. Ugh, science was SO boring! She looked around lazily at the people around her. Obviously, not one person was listening. There were Stan and Kyle, deep in conversation, and Cartman right behind them, trying to eavesdrop what they were saying. Next to the three of them, Tweek was jumping in his chair with the face of someone who'd had 40 cups of coffee that morning... Which, considering Tweek and his parents that basically crammed coffee beans down his throat, was very likely.

Kenny's gaze swept through the class, which had stayed almost exactly the same during the years: only a couple of new faces appeared here and there amidst all the old elementary school friends.

Kenny sighed as she turned her attention back to her desk, but her face immediately lit up when she noticed the small note that had landed there.

She grinned as she unraveled the scrunched up piece of paper and read:

_See you at my place after school._

Kenny's smile widened as she immediately recognized the scrawly handwriting. Craig.

She turned around and gave her best friend a cheeky wink, resulting in Craig flipping her off.

She laughed under her breath.

Oh, Craig. Over the years, Kenny had drifted away from the Stan, Kyle, Cartman trio, and the two had become very close friends.

Kenny sometimes felt that she wanted to be more than friends, but she knew that could never be. She couldn't tell Craig who she was. Ever.

This thought sent a sharp stab of pain through her. Not even her best friend could know about who she really was...

Kenny quickly pushed this thought to the back of her mind. This was already more than she could have ever hoped for. If she'd went on living in the orphanage, she would've become more and more solitary, and would have never been able to have a friend like Craig.

Not that anyone was like Craig anyway. Craig was one of a kind... And Kenny felt she was the luckiest girl in the world to be best friends with him. She was the only one Craig ever invited to his house...

Kenny spent the rest of the lesson musing on what they'd do at Craig's house this time, until finally, the bell rang. Kenny jumped out of her seat and headed for Craig's desk, just as the raven-haired boy stood up.

"Let's go." he said in his flat, nasal voice.

"See you, fags!" Cartman called out to them as he passed them.

Kenny scowled as Craig flipped the fat boy off, but she smiled on the inside. If only Cartman knew just how wrong he was!

"Ignore fatass. We've got fun to have!" Kenny exclaimed.

Craig turned around and stared at her, and for a moment, Kenny feared that her mumble had been too high-pitched or her statement too feminine.

"What is it?" she teased, trying to get back in character, "Did my sexy voice turn you on?".

The answer was a painful punch on the shoulder. Kenny staggered and grinned. Yeah, this was the Craig she knew, she thought as she followed him out of the classroom.

It always amazed her how Craig could always understand what she was saying just by hearing a mumble, or how he knew whether she was grinning or frowning when only her eyes were visible.

"How can you tell?" she asked him as they were walking to Craig's house.

"It's all in the eyes," he told her, "Yours twinkle like crazy when you smile. But when you frown they darken so much it's as though you pulled a shade inside your eyes. It's weird. And anyway, your eyebrows give you away".

Kenny was amazed at how observant Craig was, how with a single look he could tell how she was feeling... And how well he knew her.

"Plus," he added, "You always wave your arms around when you're happy, whereas when you're sad you hold your hands behind your back".

Kenny looked at Craig, gaping. Craig simply smiled.

"You know me better than I know myself, huh?" she mumbled.

Craig laughed.

"I guess so! I know everything about you, don't I?".

Kenny lowered her gaze.

"Right." she mumbled. "Well, almost." she added under her breath.

"What did you say?".

"Nothing!" Kenny answered, immediately raising her head and looking at her best friend, "Nothing at all!".

Craig came to a halt.

"Kenny," he said, taking a step towards her.

Kenny felt herself blush as her best friends face moved in closer and closer to hers, until they were only inches away.

Craig's deep blue eyes gazed into hers, and Kenny felt as though he could look right through her, and were looking through her soul.

She felt herself starting to panic.

_Don't find out. Please don't find out!_

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" he said finally, taking a step back.

Kenny said nothing, but let out an inward sigh of relief, which caught in her throat the moment Craig spoke again.

"And I'm going to find out what it is".

Kenny smiled weakly.

"Good luck!" she said, trying to sound the way she normally did, but conscious of the wavering in her voice.

"Oh, it's on!" Craig grinned.

Kenny's heart sank. This was going to be a rough week.

She didn't know the half of it: the worst was yet to come.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think!


	3. Hiding something

A/N: Thanks to everyone who left a review, you don't know how happy and confident that makes me. If anyone was wondering, I don't thing I'll cancel this story after all, so anyone who cares can breathe easy.

I'm aware that this chap. may be a bit boring, but bear with me, it's going somewhere.

Thanks for all your support!

Chapter 3

Craig couldn't know.

If he discovered the truth, their friendship would crumble.

Who would still remain friends with someone who'd lied to them their whole lives?

She wouldn't let that happen. She _couldn't_ let that happen. She didn't care if that meant never being able to be more than just a friend to Craig, she would do everything and anything in her power to prevent her best friend from discovering her secret.

These were her thoughts as Kenny tightened the bandages on her chest more than ever before, and made sure that the mumbles through her hood could not be recognized as a girl's.

After so many years of nobody suspecting anything, she'd let her guard slip a few times.

_Never again_, she thought to herself as she tucked her now long hair into her hood.

If just one strand came loose, she was dead. Why hadn't she ever cut her hair?, she thought, scowling to herself. As long as she had her hood on, hopefully no one would notice.

"Kenny, get your ass down here and go to school!" her "mom" shouted.

Ugh. Why wasn't it Saturday?

* * *

Kenny trudged slowly down the road, painfully aware of the pair of eyes burning into her back, but pretending not to notice or care.

"Hey Kenny!" he called out to her after a while.

"Found nothing in my back, didn't you?" Kenny smirked.

Craig flipped her off.

"I will find out what your secret is, Kenny McCormick. I'll find out, if it's the last thing I do!" he exclaimed.

Kenny felt her stomach churn.

"Well then, you're already on the wrong track!" she retorted, and immediately wished she hadn't.

Craig paused and glanced at her, while Kenny resisted the urge to clamp her hands over her mouth.

_Idiot!_, she scolded herself, _What kind of an idiot are you?_

Craig was quiet as he pondered on the meaning of Kenny's statement, and Kenny punched and yelled at herself inwardly, so the two walked the rest of the way in silence.

_Oh crap, he's gonna figure it out!_

Kenny kept glancing back at Craig, holding his head in his hand with a pensive air.

_Shit! Stupid, stupid Kenny! _she told herself fiercely.

At that moment, Craig shook his head and saw her. Kenny instantly turned her attention back to the front of the class.

_Shit._

* * *

The next few days were a living hell. Craig never left her alone for a moment, and when they were together he wouldn't say anything, just look at her with those dark, pensive eyes that sent shivers down her spine.

She tried to avoid him by sitting, for the first time in a long time, with her old childhood friends, but to no avail. Craig followed her like a shadow, and even when they weren't sitting together, she could still feel his eyes on her, piercing through her.

When the last period on Thursday came, after three days spent like this, Kenny felt as though she would pass out at any moment. The stress of it all, having to act nonchalantly while she felt as though the tension would make her snap. Keeping it up was so tiring, she didn't know how she'd managed to get through nearly the whole week. Virtually, it had been nothing. Craig had wasted three days looking at her.

But to Kenny, it was so much more. She felt as though her life were on the line, like at any moment Craig could have a revelation or epiphany that would end her life as she knew it and loved it forever.

Kenny lay her head down on her desk. It was almost over. She sighed contentedly at the thought. One more hour, and then she'd be able to go home and rest. Maybe, if she was lucky, Craig would get bored of it, and she'd be able to go back to her normal life, with no one suspecting anything. After all, he knew Kenny would tell him nothing, and what could he discover by just looking at her?

Now that the day was almost over, confidence swept over her. He wouldn't be able to find out anything. She'd kept up the act for eight years, why should he find her out now?

Kenny stiffened as a note fell onto her desk. She turned around to look at Craig, who nodded silently.

_Oh Lord._

Shakily, Kenny opened the note.

What she read knocked all the air out of her lungs.

_I need to talk to you._


	4. Good friends

A/N: Wow, this story is writing itself! I hope you guys like it. Thanks again for all your support, it really helps me. Please leave a review, and enjoy chapter four of "The real Kenny"!

Chapter 4

_That's it. It's over. I'm screwed._

Kenny's confidence had been immediately swept away the moment she'd read those few, simple words.

If he'd just wanted to tell her he'd given up, he would've written it in the note directly.

There was only one explanation to why he wanted to speak to her in person.

He'd found out something.

How, she had no idea. What telltale sign could he have noticed? She'd always thought her parka was baggy enough to hide her features, and she'd been careful to use a slightly deeper voice in the few times he'd addressed her that day, rather than just staring at her without a word.

What else was there to do to lead him to thinking she was a boy? She thought she'd acted the same as every day... And if he had noticed how nervous she was, wouldn't have a male Kenny been just as nervous in her situation?

Maybe he hadn't discovered the whole truth. Maybe he'd just reflected on her statement earlier and discovered what she'd meant: she wasn't Kenny McCormick.

That was the most probable and worst possible scenario: if he just found out Kenny was a girl, what difference would it really make? She was still his friend, Kenny McCormick. He might feel hurt for never being told, but that would be it, right? But what if Craig discovered that she was in fact a different person, an impostor? A would-be copy of the boy he used to know in elementary school?

It would be the end. The end of their friendship. And she would be alone once again.

She didn't want to be alone.

As Kenny thought this, the bell rang. Kenny resisted the urge to bolt for the door and run away. What good would it do?

_Maybe_, she told herself hopefully, _Maybe he thinks he found out my secret, but he's wrong!_

_Yeah, right._

Kenny sighed with resignation and turned around, just as Craig approached her.

"Not here," he whispered.

_Oh Craig, what a good friend. You won't publicly humiliate me even though I lied to you my whole life._

Kenny followed Craig to the back of the school, past the Goth kid's smoking corner, to a place where they could talk in peace.

Kenny wrung her hands nervously as Craig turned round to face her. She stiffened as Craig put his hands on her shoulders.

"Kenny..." he said softly, "I'm sorry".

Kenny looked up at him. She didn't understand... She was the one who should've been apologizing!

"I should've realized it sooner".

Kenny's last hope was blown away.

"Don't... Don't say anything." she pleaded, but Craig shook his head.

"You've always told me everything. If you're keeping a secret from me, you must have a good reason." he continued.

Kenny looked at him, startled. Did he really mean..?

"You've always been there for me. You're my only true friend. You always help me when I'm in trouble. Really, if you were a girl...".

He paused and smiled, while Kenny felt as though she'd faint on the spot.

"Anyway, you do all this for me, and I just pry into your life and secrets in return? Just now I realized, what I've been doing these three days... It's so wrong! Trying to see what you were hiding, as though I had the right to know every single thing about you! While you already do so much for me! I've been selfish...".

Craig looked up at Kenny and smiled again.

"So I'll wait for you to tell me".

Kenny stood there, glued to the spot. She couldn't believe it.

Had she really heard correctly? Craig was that understanding?

Before she could stop herself, Kenny threw herself in Craig's arms and hugged him.

"Thank you!" she mumbled, her eyes watering, "Thank you so much!".

Craig staggered backwards, taken aback, but Kenny was too happy to care or think that a boy wouldn't have acted that way.

Her life was safe. She was going to keep on living the way she always had. Craig had decided it was better for the secret never to surface... Or at least, until Kenny decided to tell him herself. Someday.

After a few awkward seconds for Craig, Kenny detached herself from her best friend and smiled.

"Thank you." she said one last time, "You don't know how much this means to me!".

Craig looked down and grumbled something under his breath, but Kenny could see him blushing.

"My, aren't we shy!" she teased.

As Craig's fist collided with her shoulder, Kenny laughed despite the stinging pain. Now, her life was truly perfect.

* * *

There is a saying. What goes up, must come down. For Kenny, nothing had ever really "gone up" in the first place. She was an orphan, stayed with a family so poor they couldn't afford anything... But obviously, now that she felt truly happy, something had to happen to send it all crashing down around her.

And that something came in the form of a new transfer student.

* * *

A/N: Ps, sorry for the short chapters. In the next ones, things get complicated!


	5. Transfer student

A/N: Sorry for the slow update! We're getting to the exciting part! :D Ps, I'm leaving for the seaside in a few days, so I won't be able to use the internet at all, and when I get back I'm flying to the States, so I probably won't update this until the 21st or 22nd (that's why I've waited so long before posting this, I've actually had it written for a long time.) Therefore, I tried to end this chapter in the most cliffhangy way I could... Enjoy! And remember, no reviews means no chapter 6! I mean it! Oh, how cruel of me!

Chapter 5

Kenny smiled as she skipped to school in the pouring rain. She was late, soaked to the bone, and was probably going to die of pneumonia, but she really didn't care. Things were going her way, for once, as she wasn't going to let anything spoil her happiness.

Kenny smiled and waved as she saw Craig waiting for her at the gate, and rushed forward to meet him.

Yes. For once, her life was perfect.

"How's it going?" she asked cheerfully as she reached him.

"Could be better, could be worse. This weather sucks." he answered flatly.

"I know, right?" Kenny answered, as the two entered the building and she shook her head in an effort to dry herself.

Just as the friends got to their classroom and took their seats, the teacher walked in.

"Hello." she said briskly, sitting down and letting out a sigh of relief, "Sorry I'm late, but I've had a lot of paperwork to sign".

Kenny immediately looked up.

"What?" she wondered out loud.

Ms. Brown shot her an angry look, and Kenny immediately shut up.

"If you let me finish talking, I'll tell you why." she said through gritted teeth, her voice dripping venom.

She took a deep breath.

"Now, this has come as a surprise to all of us." she began in a tired voice, "But a new transfer student will be joining us starting today. His parents have just given us the subscription form, and he should be arriving after lunch".

The class became immediately abuzz with chatter, as Ms. Brown vainly called for silence.

"We've never had a student transfer in the middle of term before!" Kyle exclaimed, nudging his best friend.

"I wonder if it's a guy or a girl." Stan wondered.

"Let's hope it's a girl!" Clyde grinned slyly, and many others murmured in agreement.

"It's got to be a cool guy!" Bebe said dreamily, "I hope he has blue eyes...".

"I haven't seen anyone – GAH! – new around town though." Tweek stuttered.

Silence fell as these last words started sinking in, and Tweek looked around nervously, wondering if he should've just kept his mouth shut.

"He's right." Kyle murmured, "No one has transferred here, and all the teenagers in South Park already go to this school".

"Not the rich ones! It's got to be a rich guy!" Bebe exclaimed, gaining a collective dreamy sigh from all the girls around her.

"Then why would he go to this shitty school?" Kyle challenged.

"Quiet, students!" Ms. Brown screeched, finally successfully shutting "those bratty kids" up, "We'll find out after lunch".

* * *

"What do you think the new kid will be like?" Kenny asked Craig as she ate her frozen waffle.

"Don't know. Don't care." Craig answered simply, taking a bite from his sandwich

"What happened to Mr. Sensitive?" Kenny teased.

"Shut up".

Kenny smiled and tackled her frozen waffle. It was incredibly hard for her to eat: she basically stuffed the waffle into her hood, since she didn't dare pulling it down, therefore resulting in most of her lunch falling down her collar.

Kenny sighed as half her lunch crumbled and disappeared forever in the realms of her shirt.

The ringing of the bell made Kenny turn her absorbed attention from the crumbs that could still be saved.

"Let's go." she told her best friend, standing up and losing the last crumb survivors forever. She didn't want to show it, but she couldn't wait to see the new student. Nothing new ever happened in a small town like South Park, and the thought of someone from the outside joining the picture excited her.

Craig nodded and stood up, and the two made their way to their classroom.

Kenny was in for the biggest shock of her entire life.

* * *

"Class, I'd like you to welcome our new student." Ms. Brown told the excited class. "Won't you come in please?" she added, addressing someone outside the door.

There was a collective gasp from the girls and groan from the boys as the new student walked in.

He was a boy, tall and thin, with short disheveled blond hair and blue eyes. He grinned as he faced the class, winking at a few girls behind the teacher's back.

His eyes traveled through the classroom, until he rested his gaze on Kenny. Their eyes met, and she saw the boy's grin widen as his eyes glinted.

Kenny was taken slightly aback, but at the same time she had a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that she knew this boy.

She studied him for a moment.

_That's funny. Same color hair, same color eyes..._

She knew this boy for sure. But who was he?

Suddenly, something clicked in her mind, just as the teacher spoke.

"This is..." she said, looking puzzled and glancing down at the papers on her desk, "A... Amanda Nicholson?".

Silence fell.

The boy smirked once more.

"No," he said slowly, his gaze never leaving Kenny, "No, that's her name. I'm Kenny McCormick".


	6. The real Kenny

A/N: Okay, I'm back! Sorry for the wait, and thanks to everyone who left a review! Tomorrow I'm leaving for the US, so if I don't update soon it's 'cause I'm too jet-lagged to write anything :) Enjoy what may very well be the climax of "The Real Kenny", sorry the chapters are so short. And _please_ tell me what you think by leaving a review! I need reviews to keep me going!

Chapter 6

_No. No, this can't be!_

It was impossible. It was... It wasn't real! It _couldn't_ be real!

And yet, there he stood, the real Kenny McCormick, the boy who had once been her closest friend and was now her worst enemy, come to steal her life away from her. Just as she had done with him.

All eyes were on her as she slowly stood up, her eyes locked with Kenny's.

The students as well as the teacher were all speechless with disbelief.

"Go on." Kenny McCormick smirked, "Take that parka off".

_It's over. _

_It's all over. _

_My life is over. _

_I'm dead._

It was all his fault. Why had he come back? Why did he have to do this to her?

* * *

"_Why are you crying?"._

"_Go away. Leave me alone"._

_The little boy squatted down next to her._

"_What your name? I'm Kenny,"._

_The girl sniffed and said nothing._

"_Do you want to be friends?" he asked, smiling._

_The small girl looked at him, surprised._

_"I'm alone. I don't have any friends." she mumbled.  
_

_"Not anymore!" the small boy grinned.  
_

_The girl's face __broke into a smile._

"_Yes!"._

* * *

He wasn't that child anymore. Kenny wasn't the small boy who had come to her when she'd needed him most, who'd comforted her through hardship, who'd always visited her no matter what.

He was a malicious, evil boy who'd come to tear her from the life and the people she loved.

In a sudden burst of anger, the girl tore off her parka and threw it to the floor, too angry to feel self conscious, and flicked her long hair back in contempt.

She looked around her, her eyes boring into the incredulous faces around her, avoiding her best friend's, and then back to the boy in front of her and his wide, wicked grin.

"How did you like being an orphan... Mandy?" she asked mockingly, spatting out the last word.

The boy just smiled in return, that awful grin she wanted to sweep clean off his face.

"It was okay, but I like my life better. I want it back now" he replied coolly.

"Take it!" she snarled, "It sucks anyway".

She noticed a look of hurt appear on Craig's face with the corner of her eye, but ignored it.

"Your parents are Kathy and James Nicholson, you live in Denver at 108 Oak Street and go to the local high school." Kenny told her, picking up his parka and putting it on.

The rest of the class had disappeared from their world.

"You're still dirt poor and neglected and have no friends." the girl snarled.

Kenny laughed.

"With you living my life, I expected as much. Here, put your clothes on." he added, tossing her a shirt.

"So... They called you Amanda, huh? What kind of shitty name is that anyway?" she sneered.

"Yours, now".

"I'm not Amanda Nicholson." the girl hissed, "I am Kenny McCormick, a student at South Park High".

At that moment, the real Kenny stopped smiling.

"Face it," he said slowly, "It's over. You're not Kenny anymore. You never were. _I_'m Kenny. I've _always_ been Kenny".

The girl said nothing, but lowered her gaze.

He was right. She'd never really been Kenny. It had all been an act, from beginning to end.

An act that had finally come to a close.

The girl turned around and headed towards the door, glancing over the shocked faces of what had been her classmates one last time. She briefly made eye contact with a gaping Craig and mouthed "I'm sorry", before disappearing out the door.

Shocked silence reigned as she slammed the door shut behind her.

"What... Just happened?" Ms. Brown breathed.

Kenny smiled under the hood of his parka.

"Nothing, miss. It looks like you won't be having a new student after all".

* * *

The girl stormed off into the rain, head down, hair falling over her eyes. Now what? She wasn't Amanda Nicholson. But then, she wasn't Kenny McCormick either. She wasn't anyone. A nobody. A rough copy of an original that could be tossed aside at any moment. And eventually it had happened.

Now, she was just what she'd been before the whole ordeal had ever happened: an abandoned orphan, alone against the world. Because she'd never be able to face her friends again. Especially Craig, the boy she'd lied to all this time. The boy who'd confided her all his secrets, oblivious of hers.

She wasn't the person he'd thought he'd befriended. So... Had they ever really been friends in the first place?

It was all her fault. She knew it would've never worked out. A relationship built on lies.

She would never be able to look him in the face again. His shocked expression had been enough to last her a lifetime. It would be better if she never saw him again.

She couldn't go back now. She had to move on and walk forward. With no place to go, she had no choice. Just keep on walking.


	7. Without her

A/N: Okay, I'm not really sure of this chapter, so if you could please review and tell me what you think. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters, you guys are so awesome! Enjoy a Craig-centric chapter!

Chapter 7

"I still can't believe she hid that from us." Kyle said pensively, stabbing his lunch with his fork.

He, Stan, Cartman, Clyde and Craig were sitting at the same table, eating in awkward silence.

Real Kenny was having absolutely no problem "fitting in" with the girls, but the guys instead tried to stay as far away from him as they could. They had a hard time accepting the fact that the Kenny they'd known all this time was a girl and, since it felt so awkward seeing a different Kenny they didn't know, they tried to avoid him as much as possible.

"I know... Who'd have thought that Kenny was a girl?" Stan muttered, staring his sandwich down.

"Lying bitch!" Cartman growled.

"Shut up, fatass!" Kyle yelled, "She was our friend anyway, right?".

"Dude... Friends don't lie to you." Stan said, never lifting his eyes from his food.

Kyle lowered his gaze.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe... Maybe she never really was our friend...".

"She was hot, though!" Clyde grinned mischievously, "Only wrapped up in bandages like that! When I saw her I kept wishing they'd come undone and fall off!".

Craig, who had been quietly eating his lunch up until now, suddenly stood up.

His blue eyes burned with uncontrollable anger, and Clyde recoiled instinctively at his gaze, instantly wishing he'd held his tongue.

"That. Is. _It_." Craig growled menacingly, "One more word and I swear I will bash your fucking brains in".

"I know she was your best friend, dude," Kyle said nervously, as Craig whipped his face round to look at him, "But face it, she's not coming back. Someone else took her place. I know he'll never replace her in your heart, since she was your best friend, but still, you need to let it go. You've got to move on".

Craig shot him a death glare. "She was my _best friend_! My _only_ good friend!".

"You always have us!" Kyle retorted, slightly hurt by his last sentence, but Craig ignored him.

"I'm sure that if Stan left school, you'd just "move on" too, right?" he sneered.

Stan sighed. "It's not the same".

"Yeah," Cartman chimed in, "Stan isn't a bitch pretending to be our friend!".

It was less than a second.

Craig's well-trained fist locked instantly with the fat boy's nose. There was a scream as blood came gushing out of his nostrils.

"Dude!" Clyde cried, as Craig pushed Cartman up against the wall and stared at him fiercely with flaring, wild eyes.

"It wasn't fake," he hissed before the others could separate them, "She was _really_ our friend, and I swear to God, the next time you insult her I will _kill you_".

Cartman nodded repeatedly, fright visible in his eyes.

Craig let go of his collar and turned back to face the other boys.

"The same applies to you too," he growled, before stalking out of the cafeteria without another word.

"What's up _his_ ass?" Cartman groaned angrily, clutching half a dozen tissues to his nose to stop the blood loss. Stan and Kyle shook their heads at each other, clueless. But Clyde looked on, dumbstruck, his gaze fixed to the spot where Craig had been standing.

Slowly, a grin crept onto his face.

"She wasn't the only one to keep secrets from us, was she, Craig?" he told himself under his breath.

* * *

Craig stormed out of the cafeteria and into the hallway. He scowled as he leaned his back against the wall.

He couldn't believe them. Acting as though Kenny had left no impact whatsoever on their lives. As though she'd just been a person in the sidelines to just give up on at any moment.

Kenny had been so much more. She'd been a loyal companion. The only one who hadn't given up on him. His one true friend.

Ever since entering high school, Craig's friends had started to avoid him. He was too violent, they said. It wasn't that Craig couldn't control his anger. He was simply straightforward. He wanted to let people know exactly what he thought. And since everyone in South Park was an idiot, the only way he could let someone understand his opinions, in his mind, was to pound them into the idiot in question. Those he'd used to call his friends had started feeling uneasy around him, and had finally become afraid of him. His uncaring tone had also succeeded in separating him from everyone else. One by one, all his classmates had abandoned him. All but Kenny. Kenny had always stood by him, no matter what. She understood him. She was the only one who understood him.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice tore him from his thoughts.

"Craig!".

Craig turned his head, and his face immediately darkened when he saw the grinning blonde boy calling out to him and rushing towards him. He was wearing an orange parka, _her_ orange parka, but with the hood off.

"Hey! What's up?" the boy greeted as he came up to him.

Craig snorted and looked away.

"What's your problem?" Kenny asked angrily.

"Don't talk to me." Craig said, averting his gaze.

"Dude, it's me! Kenny! The kid you knew in third grade! The _real_ Kenny!".

"The _real_ Kenny left school yesterday and still hasn't come back." Craig muttered.

"The girl was pretending! Why do you have to hold it against me?".

Craig glared at the boy who, in his eyes, would always be the fake one.

"She wasn't pretending. It was all real. And she was a million times better than you'll ever be".

"Fine, butthole! You be like that!" Kenny fumed, his face contorted in an expression of hurt before turning around briskly and walking away, head lowered.

Craig sighed, too absorbed in his own thoughts to care about the blonde.

_Kenny... Why didn't you tell me?_

The boy bit his lip.

_Didn't you trust me?_

A loud, painfully nasal voice tore him from his melancholy thoughts.

"Come on, man, give the guy a chance!" the voice sounded in his ear.

Craig immediately stiffened and swung round. His eyes met with those of a concerned Clyde Donovan.

"What do you care?" Craig challenged, anger immediately flaring up inside him at the thought of the hated boy.

Clyde sighed.

"Come on, have a heart! The guy hasn't been able to lead a normal life for eight years, why do you have to make it so hard for him? Give him a chance!".

Craig snorted in contempt.

"He should've stayed in Denver." he muttered.

"I just can't deal with you when you're like this." Clyde shook his head and said in a condescending tone, "Now why don't you calm down so I can tell you something important?".

Craig eyed Clyde suspiciously.

"What do you want?" he asked in a bored tone, but his eyes betrayed a look of curiosity.

"I know something about you." Clyde said, a smile forming at the corner of his lips.

Craig looked slightly alarmed, but when he spoke his voice was still as monotone and uninterested as ever.

"So what?"

A wide grin crept onto the boy's face.

"If you knew what it was, you'd be way more concerned, trust me".

Craig said nothing.

"It was really quite obvious, it's not really that big a secret. It just suddenly hit me". The grin never left Clyde's face.

"Go on".

"It's about her." Clyde whispered.

Craig's face went white.


	8. Stole my place

A/N: Here I am again! I really wanted to delve deeper in how the "real" Kenny is feeling, so in this short chapter I did just that. Please tell me what you think of it, because I'm planning on doing the same thing with Craig and don't wanna mess it up! :) And, since this chapter is so short anyway, I'm going take some time to answer one review that I simply loved. In answer to the last guest who reviewed the previous chapter, will they kill the real Kenny? I can totally picture Craig with an axe an a murderous glint in his eye, ready to murder him! That is the coolest idea ever! I've got to think about it... But wait, would he die?

And to all you other reviewers out there who wrote saying how you like this story, thank you so much for all your support! :) And, last but not least, a big hi to all those five people out there reading this from Italy! Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 8

Kenny trudged down the street, his head lowered, eyes glued to the pavement.

His "new" home was about a 15 minute walk from the school. There, nothing had changed. His parents hadn't noticed anything, Kevin didn't give a shit about him anyway, and Karen was still whiny, defenseless, sweet Karen. But the fact that even his little sister hadn't noticed he'd changed at all filled him with despair.

However, what weighed on his soul most of all was his friends' rejection.

All he'd wanted was to be what he'd always been, return to his old life, but they'd pushed him away.

_Nobody wants me._

Why?

_They won't accept me anymore. After all we've been through!_

Kenny came to a halt and angrily bashed his fist against the wall.

_I was the real one. She stole my life. She stole it!_

_Why won't they accept me?_

_Why do they hate me? _

_Why?_

Kenny couldn't bear it._  
_

_How come they didn't recognize me?_

_Is an orange parka all it takes to be me? Is that enough? Could just any person wearing one be considered me in their eyes? Am I that unimportant to them?_

He couldn't believe it. His friends, those he's thought were his closest friends, couldn't tell the difference between him and an orphaned girl. Hell, as long as she was wearing an orange parka, she was identical to him in every respect, right?

_She was fake. _She_ was fake! She was a liar! _I_'m Kenny. Why won't they accept _me_?_

She'd lied to them. She was a liar! Why did they accept her, but didn't want anything to do with _him_, their old friend?

_All I wanted was to be the real me. That was all I asked for!_

Kenny shut his eyes and clenched his fists.

_Why?_

_Why do they make it so hard for me?_

Kenny's legs finally gave way beneath him, and he sank to the ground.

_I've known them forever. I've known them since preschool! _

_Why do they turn away from me now?_

_Why?_

_After all I did for them. After all the fun we had together. _

After all those years... They'd grown up together!

Then it hit him, like a bullet to the brain.

He hadn't grown up with them. No. _She_'d been the one by their side, from childhood to adolescence.

She'd known his best friends longer than he had.

_She stole my place. She stole my place in their hearts. And now they don't want me back._

After all, he'd only known them for what, five years?

Tears pricked Kenny's eyes, and the boy fought them back fiercely.

_It's all her fault. She betrayed me! _

_I thought she was my friend…_

_I was her first friend. I helped her out of her misery. I made her smile._

_Why does she do this to me now?_

_Why?_

_Why is she so cruel?_

Tears streamed down Kenny's cheeks.

_Boys don't cry, Amanda Nicholson._

That name. That hateful, hateful name. The name that had made his life a living hell.

Did they know what it felt like? Did they know how much it twists you up inside? Did they have any idea how it had felt? The crisis it had put him into?

Eight years… Eight whole years of hell. Eight whole years of being Amanda Nicholson.

Did they know the stress? The fear, the continuous fear of the truth being revealed?

Did they know how hard it had been?

Did they have any idea of how it messes you up?

Had they ever given a single moment's thought about what he'd been through?

Had it ever occurred to them, before turning their backs to him, of how long he'd dreamed of the day when he'd finally get his chance, when he'd finally be able to get back to his old life?

How long he'd dreamed of being a man again.

They didn't care. Nobody cared. Nobody understood, and nobody gave a damn.

They didn't want him. That was the truth.

He was out of place in his own hometown.

_I don't belong here anymore… Do I?_

But then, where did he belong?_  
_

_I don't want to go back... I don't want to go back!_

He couldn't give up now. Not after coming this far.

He was going to stay in South Park, if it killed him._  
_

But really, what was the point? His "friends" would never look him the same way again. They'd probably never talk to him again either. They would avoid him for the rest of his life.

What was the point of being yourself if everything you used to have was gone?

Because his friends were the only thing dirt poor Kenny McCormick had ever had. Those, and the dysfunctional family he definitely was not proud of.

The boy suddenly raised his head to the sky, opened his mouth wide and screamed. A scream of exasperation and despair. He screamed to the heavens, knowing that no one who heard would come stand by his side._  
_

They would avert their gazes, mutter, pretend they hadn't heard.

He had no one now.

He was more alone than he'd ever been in his entire, miserable life.

* * *

A/N: Wow, talk about short, it's the second longest chapter yet! I hope you liked Kenny's thoughts and angst! ;) Review, pleeeze?


	9. Crack in the shell

A/N: Before I start, I would like to thank guest dto for leaving such an in-depth review. You're right, up til now, Kenny has been the antagonist, but I really wanted to show how he's not just a baddie, but has a reason to do it behind it, and is in pain himself. So there's no real bad guy... Which makes it harder to decide what to do with him (though Craig doesn't see this and could easily murder him for the sake of getting his friend back. Will this actually happen? Only time will tell). I can see why you'd wait until showing that Kenny isn't all bad until later, but I wanted people to catch a glimpse of what he's feeling right from the start. And now I need to juggle even more aspects of the story, which may have been a stupid move on my part, but I'll manage. There will, however, soon be confrontation between Craig and original Kenny (which I really look forward to writing). Thanks again for your opinion, it really helps! :)

I get the feeling this may be one of my stupidest chapters, and if so I'm sorry, but please bear with me, the next one will be better. Please review and tell me if I messed up or if you liked it!

Chapter 9

Craig had suddenly turned pale. That, for Clyde, was a good sign. Craig had always towered above him menacingly, giving Clyde the feeling that he could and would rip him apart at any moment. Now, for once, he wasn't the weak one. He'd found a hole in Craig's shell, discovered his little secret. Which really, was nothing special. But the fact that he, Clyde Donovan, had found Craig Tucker's weakness was something that filled him with a sensation of power.

"Clyde..." Craig breathed, "You do _not_ want to go there".

"Oh, come on! It's not a big deal!" Clyde grinned.

"Just... Don't". There was a quiver in Craig's normally monotonous voice, as he lowered his gaze.

Clyde paused to savor the moment. He'd been one of Craig's close friends once, but as Craig had become more and more violent, he'd been unable to keep it up. And now, here he was, enjoying every minute of revealing a stupid secret, rendered so taboo simply because Craig had never told anyone. When had he become such an asshole?, he wondered. Heck, he didn't care.

"Craig... You have a crush on her don't you?".

As soon as he'd uttered those words, a heavy silence fell all around them. Craig's silence became oppressive, and Clyde could feel a storm was about to break loose. "Why do I always do these stupid things?" Clyde finally asked himself.  
Yup, he had definitely earned a permanent place on Craig's bad side now.

Clyde recoiled instinctively as Craig looked up at him, but all the emotion had disappeared from Craig's blue eyes. No anger, no alarm, but not even acceptance. Nothing. His face was pale, but that was it. His expression had gone completely blank.

Clyde was taken aback by this. He'd initially wanted to tease Craig a little, but looking at those eyes, those expressionless, vacant eyes, had sucked all the wind out of his sails. His throat had gone completely dry.

"So?" Craig asked, eyes boring into Clyde's.

"So..." Clyde continued slowly, thinking fast. He didn't want to get on Craig's bad side, in case he wasn't already, and seeing him so utterly crushed had drawn all the fun out of what he'd been meaning to do.

Suddenly, he was filled with inspiration.

Maybe this could be an occasion to rekindle their old friendship.

"I'll help you." he said, beaming.

Craig's eyes widened with surprise.

"What?" he asked, incredulously.

"You've got to take her back, Craig. It's the only way. Are you just going to let her walk out of your life, just like that? Are you just going to blame it all on the other Kenny, when you could stop her? If you wait too long, she may leave town and you probably won't ever see her again. Are you going to let that happen?" Clyde asked, getting more excited and pressing with every word.

The flare came back into Craig's eyes.

"No!" he told Clyde.

"_Then what are you doing here? Get out there and take her back_!" Clyde screamed, his excitement getting the best of him.

"_Yeah_!" Craig screamed back, and the two grinned at each other, as all the passers-by in the hallway turned and stared at the duo.

"Go!" Clyde screeched, and Craig turned round and dashed down the hall towards the exit.

He didn't care that school wasn't over yet. Clyde was right. He didn't want to lose her. He couldn't let that happen. He had to find her.

* * *

Craig tore though the schoolyard, head lowered, eyes pointed straight ahead, running as fast as his legs would carry him.

_You've got to go after her. You've got to stop her before it's too late. Or else, you'll lose her forever._

Clyde was right. Why hadn't he done that sooner? He should've followed her the moment she walked out that door. Now, it could already be too late.

_I don't want to lose her. Not her too!_

_My friend... My only friend...  
_

_I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU TAKE HER FROM ME!  
_

But where could he start looking? She could be anywhere. Two days had already passed, she could've even left town by now. He had to reach her, fast._  
_

But first one stop.

Craig ran down the road he knew all too well.

There was only one person who might have an idea of where Kenny had gone. And that was the person who, right now, he hated more than anyone else in the world.


	10. Insane

_A/N: Ugh, this is getting so confusing! Should I refer to boy Kenny as Kenny? Should I call girl Kenny Amanda? That's not her name... But she's not Kenny! My characters' dilemmas are my own! :P Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you guys like it as well. _Please_ leave a review, 'cause I'm sure I've gone over the top... XP  
_

Chapter 10

Kenny opened his eyes as the sound of someone ringing the doorbell tore him from his sleep. Just his luck, he thought, that the one day he could sleep in because his family wasn't around, he'd be woken up early by a solicitor. He muttered curses under his breath as he slowly got out of bed and pulled his parka on, without bothering pulling up the hood. He didn't want to hide who he was anymore, ever.

"I'm coming, keeps your pants on!" he yelled sleepily as the person on the other side seemed to be involved in a life and death struggle with the doorbell and was striking it down with no mercy.

Kenny slowly turned the doorknob and the door creaked open.

Kenny's half-closed eyes immediately flew open when he saw who was standing outside his house.

It was him. Craig. And there was no use in kidding himself that he'd come to apologize.

"What do you want?" he asked sharply, studying his face for telltale signs of what had brought him here to a poor family's home. But he already knew why he'd come.

_Her_.

"I'm looking for Kenny" the boy stated flatly.

This sent a surge of rage and loathing shooting through him. How dare he. How DARE he!

"You're standing in front of him." he answered coldly.

"Quit joking around. Where is she?" Craig asked, never flinching.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Kenny said through gritted teeth, anger bubbling up inside him, "The only Kenny McCormick in this town is me, a sixteen year old boy with a poor, dysfunctional family".

Craig frowned and took a step forward, facing the other boy who was now backed against a wall. "You listen to me, butthole." he retorted angrily, " I'm looking for the girl called Kenny who attended South Park High until just a few days ago, and everyone knows it ain't you. You're a little shit who suddenly popped up and ruined all of our lives".

"That is it!" Kenny suddenly screamed. He took hold of Craig's shoulders and pushed him hard against the opposite wall.

"I ruined your lives? _I_ ruined _your_ lives? Do you even know _why_ I'm here? She made everyone a favor by leaving! Especially to herself. She should be relieved that she doesn't need to pretend anymore!".

"Shut up! How could you know how she feels?" Craig yelled back, trying to free himself of the boy's grip.

"How could I know? How could _I_ know?".

There was a sudden, eerie silence.

Then it started, slowly, softly at first, creeping up from deep inside him, until it became uncontrollable.

Kenny threw his head back and abandoned himself to a fit of maniacal laughter.

"Biggest... Joke... Of... The... Century!" he gasped between peals of sinister laughter.

He finally managed to come to a stop and looked at Craig, a crazy glint in his eyes.

"I was her, she was me! Who else would know how she felt when I was pretending to be her?"

Craig was taken aback, and Kenny started laughing again.

"Oh yes! Really, how could _I_ know? I was just forced to pretend to be a girl for the past 8 years, but I'm sure her _best friend_ would know how she feels much better than me! Especially the best friend who was never told her greatest secret! Great best friend, aren't you?".

Kenny paused, gasping for breath, laughter slowly subsiding.

"All worried about how that traitor felt, and then you treat me like shit when I've gone through her exact same situation? Some guy!" he shot, his eyes no bigger than slits.

"Dude... I... I didn't know..." Craig stammered. Anger had faded from his eyes, replaced by puzzled misunderstanding.

"Well what did you think?" Kenny screamed, "Think that I was living it up in Denver and then decided to ruin my old friend's life? She hasn't suffered half as much as me! She lived alongside MY friends and had the time of her life! I gave her everything she has now!". The boy let go of Craig's shoulders and opened his arms in a wide gesture, "I made all this possible!".

With every word, Kenny could feel his anger rising.

"While I was sitting in a corner of an all-girl classroom, too afraid to let anyone approach me! While those... Those 'parents'," he said, spitting out the last word, "Picked me up after school every single day! No chance of escape! No chance of running away! I waited _eight whole years_ for this! And when I come back, she's stolen it all! It's all gone! All my friends, my whole life... Gone! Stolen! Vanished! It's all hers now! And you actually, you actually DARE to come here and ask me to help get her, she who ruined my whole life, get her back? While she has everything she could ever wish for? Why? Why should I? So she can take the last of my life? Why, sure! With pleasure! Let's hand her everything on a silver platter, why don't we?".

Anger reappeared and flickered in Craig's eyes. "What are you talking about?" he said through gritted teeth, "Everything handed to her? She was an _orphan_!"

"Who, for 8 years, had everything she could ask her, friends, family, people who care for her, and her double-crossed enemy whisked away and unable to come back" Kenny added with a smile. A wide, sinister, insane grin.

"You... You're crazy!" Craig cried, "You're completely insane!"

"No shit Sherlock!" Kenny screamed, insanity glinting in his blue irises, small in his wide eyes, wide unnatural grin still plastered on his face, "It messes you up!" he added, saying every word on a high note, and abandoned himself again to the laughter, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking and his whole body swaying as the sound rolled out from deep inside him.

"Do you know how it feels?" he screamed to a wide-eyed Craig, "No. No. You. DON'T!".

As Craig looked at the boy standing in front of him, whose body was still shaking with suppressed laughter, he felt real terror for the first time of his life. He had never been so scared, had never had such a strong urge to run away in his entire existence.

As silence slowly fell, as the boy's shoulders stopped shaking, Craig took a step towards him.

"Don't touch me," the boy whimpered, holding his head between his hands, "Don't look at me".

Craig stopped dead in his tracks. What had just happened? How had the boy's mood changed so quickly?

"Go away!" the boy screamed, tears evident in his voice, "Why can't you leave me in peace? Why do you always have to make it so hard for me?".

"I... I don't understand..." Craig stammered.

"I just wanted to fit back into my place! Be back where I belonged! Why can't you let me live in peace? After all the pain I've been through!".

"Oh, come on, drama queen! You were just pretending to be a girl! How painful can that be?" Craig exclaimed on impulse. He immediately wished he hadn't spoken as Kenny, the original Kenny, looked up at him with fierce, teary eyes.

"How DARE you." he hissed, "How DARE you.". Kenny took a deep breath.

"Do you think you can even imagine what it feels like? Having to live a lie against your own will for eight whole years? Having to pretend to the point that you can't tell the difference between the lie and the reality? Living in isolation, doing nothing but looking at other people's happiness because you're too scared of the terrible truth being revealed? Never being able to share your burden with anyone? Having to choke down and bottle up everything inside of you? And after eight years of this, you can slowly feel yourself become insane... The pain... You don't _know_ the pain".

"But you're not insane." Craig replied, in awe, "Are you?".

"Not yet, no. But on the verge of a complete mental breakdown? Yes."

Kenny smiled. "That's the way it works!".

The smile was wiped clean off his face as Craig's fist collided with Kenny's jaw.

"You're just a sissy!" he growled, "Unable to get over the past!".

"And whose fault do you think it is?" Kenny screamed, punching Craig's stomach with such force that he was sent careening backwards.

"Who... Keeps... Reminding me... Of... My... Past?" he yelled, kicking Craig repeatedly as he tried to stand back up, "Who... Keeps... Telling...Me...".

" 'YOU'RE NOT KENNY!' ?" he screamed, stepping down hard onto Craig's stomach.

Craig gasped and cried out in pain.

"You have no right to say that," Kenny added, "When you're the one who won't let me get over it! You're the one who will do whatever it takes just so I'll never fit in and get back to my old life!".

Craig stood up, swaying unsteadily.

"If I won't let you..." he said, getting back in position, "Fight for it, sissy!".

Kenny smirked.

"Oh, it's on!"


	11. Trapped

A/N: Hey, I'm finally back! Thank you all for your support, you don't know how happy it made me to see all those reviews when I finally checked my email after such a long absence! And my favorite (and only, but hopefully not for long! :P) in-depth reviewer's back! I'd never thought that Clyde, of all people, would give an inspirational speech... Huh! The romance must be the 80s girl in me coming out!  
And thanks for the idea, it'll definitely come in handy! :) Thanks for leaving an in-depth review (all you other readers out there, hint hint!).  
Enjoy! And omg, the drama!

Chapter 11

It was raining. Heavy drops fiercely fell from the heavens, unstoppable, as the last people remaining on the streets ran for the shelter of their cozy awaiting homes. A slim woman in a fur coat hurried by, who seemed to be having difficulty choosing between getting drenched walking with style or fleeing for her life to seek cover. She finally decided on the second choice and kicked off her high heeled shoes, running barefoot on the runny pavement.

There was a cacophony of slamming doors, and then silence, broken only by the unrelenting patter of rain.

They'd all ran right past her. They'd all ran right past the girl, as she sat hunched over under the meek protection of a streetlight, hugging her legs for warmth.

She didn't lift her gaze from the ground, and the rain ran into her eyes, making it impossible to see whether the water running from her eyes was rain or tears.

But it was salty as it slid down into her open mouth.

She didn't move. Her breathing was shallow, and her shoulders shook ever so slightly, but still she didn't move another muscle.

Suddenly, the girl lifted her head as something grabbed her attention from the corner of her eye. Slowly, she raised her head, squinting against the white sheet of drops that seemed to envelop her.

Under the merciless fall of rain, laying on its side by the street-light's base, was a small box. Empty, of course, but that didn't matter. It was the writing on its side, so ironic, so mocking, that made the girl clench her fists in rage as she read it.

McCormick pepper.

McCormick…

The girl's foot came down heavily onto the small white box as she crushed it, over and over again. Her foot came down once, twice, three times more, until the box had become just another piece of white plastic.

McCormick pepper… It had to be a sign. A sign, mocking her, the once McCormick who had plummeted down into the gutter.

She'd lost it all. She'd never known that it was this big a fall from the worst poverty to the worst despair.

Now she was nothing. She was a person trapped between two worlds, who didn't exist in neither one nor the other.

She was a thief who'd finally been put back in her place: back on the streets.

She was alone. Alone in the darkness. How could she go forward, when she had no future? How could she go back, when she had no past to return to?

The answer to all the questions buzzing in her mind was ruthless and cruelly simple. She couldn't. As simple as that. There was nowhere she could go to. No one to return to.

There was nothing for her.

The streets were her new reality.

The streets she walked on with no destination, the lamp-posts she sat under and the helpless hunger gnawing at her stomach.

She had banished everything else from her life.

The hunger helped hide the emotions buried deep inside her. Her guilt... Her shame.

Guilt, for stealing a life. Shame for all the wrong she'd done.

But stronger than anything else, regret. Regret for lying, but mostly, regret for abandoning it all.

Regret for abandoning all the friends she'd made, the family she'd come to love, and Craig.

The best friend she'd never really deserved in the first place.

_If I returned there now...Would he accept me?  
_

The answer was simple. No, not in a million years. Craig would feel betrayed. The person he'd thought to be his only friend had been lying to him all along. Not even someone like him would ever accept her after that. She'd built her prison of lies brick by brick... And now, she couldn't even think that some good-hearted pal would come along and let her out.

Accept her, after all she'd done.

It was all her fault.

All the pain and surprise in his face when he'd seen her seen who she really was... It had all been her fault.

She didn't want him to let her out. She had to pay the price. She wanted to pay the price.

But what if..? What if he actually came... What if he really came after her? What would he do?

If he found her... How would his expression be?

_If Craig were here now... What would he call me?_

__The girl, neither Kenny McCormick nor Amanda Nicholson, knew the answer to that question too.

_Nothing. He wouldn't call me anything. He'd stand there and look at me. Look at me, with those deep, vacant eyes. He'd look right through my soul, never needing to say a word. And then, he'd turn his back to me, and walk away, leaving me drowning in the darkness.  
_

The girl sat down and shut her eyes, as the pelting rain kept falling on her, washing away the dirt from her face and the hope from her heart.

_That's what I deserve._

* * *

A/N: Yes, McCormick brand pepper DOES exist, as I discovered just a few days ago! My aunt uses it. What a coincidence!


	12. Fighting for your life

A/N: Sorry you guys for the slow update. I meant to squeeze in this chapter right after publishing the previous one, but unfortunately I didn't make it in time, and it was a 3-day trip back to our house after a road trip that lasted way too long! So anyway, long story short, here's the new chapter. Where are all my in-depth reviewers? :( Though I'm grateful to every one of you who reviewed or showed interest in my story. Please keep reading! Slowly but surely, we're nearing the end!

Chapter 12

Craig Tucker went crashing against the wall, sending down a shower of plaster. Kenny McCormick staggered against the one opposite. A thin trickle of blood escaped his lips, and he hastily wiped it off with his right hand.

The two stared at each other, their eyes glinting with hate and anger.

"I thought no one was a match for me." Craig panted, standing up and spatting on the ground.

Kenny smiled.

"You're just attacking me. _I_'m fighting for my life".

With that, he threw himself at Craig once more, with the ferocity of a wild animal fighting to protect its freedom.

Craig hit his head hard against the wall and slid down into a heap on the floor.

In a daze, Craig suddenly realized.

Kenny _was_ a wild animal. A wild animal whose survival instinct had finally and suddenly kicked in.

Craig had never acted that way in his life. He'd never felt there was anything worth protecting. He fought with intensity just for the sake of it, for the sake of proving a point. He wasn't doing it for protecting who he was.

But this boy… He had worked for eight years to reach this moment, and he wasn't going to let him take it away. He really was fighting for his life, and against his pure instinct of survival, there was nothing Craig could do.

No. No, that wasn't right. Craig was fighting to protect his life as well. Without his only friend, what would his life be? Nothing. One dreary monotonous day would be identical to the next.

Craig snarled, the sound coming from deep in his throat.

"I'm fighting for that too." he hissed, and he hurled himself against Kenny, Kenny McCormick, the real yet fake.

Real, fake… It was all relative.

And to him, this could never be considered the original, the real.

He was going to get the real one back, at any cost.

To save her... As well as himself.

He pushed Kenny to the hallway wall, and, with sudden strength and ferocity, pummeled him with his fists, again and again. At first the boy struggled, sometimes succeeding in hitting Craig back when he spotted an opening, but he was too quick for him. Slowly, Kenny's tense muscles relaxed and his struggles ceased. He slid down to the ground, slipping Craig's grasp.

His eyes were half closed, and he was breathing heavily. For a moment, Craig feared he'd gone too far. Kenny's face was covered in bruises, and blood trickled down his face.

Craig stepped back, suddenly filled with anxiety and fear. This was his only lead... What would he do if he'd hit his head too hard and didn't remember anything?

Why was he so stupid? He shouldn't have gone all out. Had he really destroyed his only chance of ever finding her with his own hands?

A slight moan tore him from his thoughts. He swung his head round to look at the boy. His breathing had gone shallow, and tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"Why?" Kenny whimpered, "Why won't you just leave me alone? Why won't you let me live my life in piece? Why do you have to ruin my life?". He looked up at Craig, his teary red eyes pleading yet angry at the same time.  
"Why do you hate me so much?".

Craig was very suddenly taken aback, as all his anger was suddenly blown away and replaced by a sharp pang of remorse. He had never thought of himself as cruel. He had always known that what he was doing was right. But now, he saw it all in a different light. His own selfishness at wanting to steal someone's life for the sake of a friend. He bit his lip.

Real, fake, right, wrong... It was all relative.

Still, he couldn't give up. Not now. Not when he was so close.

"Just tell me," Craig said slowly, "Where did she go?".

Kenny's eyes lit up with hatred.

"I TOLD YOU!" he shrieked, his red eyes suddenly wide open, "I. DON'T. KNOW! I KEEP TELLING YOU! I KEEP SAYING I DON'T KNOW, AND YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME! DO YOU WANT ME TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU? I DON'T KNOW! WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?".

Craig took a step back. The sudden outburst had caught him off guard, and now he stood there, in awe.

"You refused to believe the girl I'm looking for existed. You never said...".

"Shut up!" Kenny screamed, putting his hands over his ears, "Shut up shut up shut up!".

"Just tell me where I could find her. That's all I want to know. Then I'll leave you alone." Craig said, as though he were trying to reason with a petulant child.

"Why? Am I not good enough for you? You want to get a replacement? Is that it? Is that all I am? Just something you can replace at any time with anything, even a girl?" Kenny yelled, tears streaming down from his eyes and streaking his cheeks.

"No." Craig muttered, "It's different. I just want to know where I could find her."

"It's not that I'm not good enough for you," Kenny sneered sarcastically, "It's just that you _prefer_ someone else!".

Craig took a step forward and grabbed hold of the boy's shoulders.

"Dude. Kenny." he said slowly, "It's not about you".

The blonde opened his mouth angrily to say something, but Craig silenced him.

"Just listen to me!" he cried fiercely, "Why don't you listen to a single word I'm saying?".

Kenny's mouth immediately snapped shut, and Craig took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Listen to me. It's not about you. I'm not looking for her so I can replace you. To me, you are two completely different people".

Again, Kenny opened his mouth, but Craig shook his head to shush him.

"I need her." he said, quietly but firmly, "I need to find her. If you want, I'll stop calling her Kenny. You'll be Kenny from now on. We'll figure it out. But I need to find her. You need to tell me where she went.".

Craig lowered his head.

"Please." he murmured, "Please".

Kenny looked at Craig, his mouth hanging slightly open, his eyes still red and puffy.

"I- I don't know...". His voice trailed off.

"Don't you have any idea? Any at all?" Craig asked desperately.

Kenny looked away. He knew where he'd go if he were to ran away.

Nowhere.

They were alike, the two of them. They both had nowhere else to go.

There would be no point in leaving town. He'd crouch in some alley, hiding from those who would recognize him, too ashamed to reveal what he'd become.

That was probably what she was doing right now.

Finally, Kenny closed his eyes and nodded.

"Alright".

His voice was no louder than a whisper.


	13. Reunion

A/N: This is the last chapter (I know it's sudden, but we all felt it coming, didn't we? It's pointless to drag it out forever… Everything must, sadly, come to an end. :( ) of The Real Kenny (Look out for the "sudden" twist into full-fledged romance!). However, I have two epilogues in mind, and neither may be suitable to the story. So please be patient, the epilogue WILL be published soon enough, but I need to think of a way I can please everyone and keep the narrative style I've been using until now, so it may take some time. Reviews, ideas and opinions are always welcome and are always a great help. It would also help if you gave me your opinion on what you think the ending should be like, but only in a general way.

I'll try to please and reach your expectations, but if I have an idea I feel strongly about, I'll publish it even if everyone's against it. It's my author way! Anyway, I'm ranting.

Please give me your opinions on this chapter, it's so crucial so I want to make sure I got it right.

Thank you all for your support, this has been a truly great experience for me.

That being said, please enjoy "Reunion", the second to last chapter of the Real Kenny.

Chapter 13

Reunion

The rain fell steadily on the small town of South Park. Heavy gray rain clouds hung in the sky, so thick and close together that no light could filter through them. It had started raining at half past one, two hours before, and it showed no sign of stopping. It had, in fact, become worst: it was almost as though the clouds, mottled over the sky at first, had all decided to gather over South Park and South Park only, and now the sky was so dense with them they blotted out the sun completely. It had suddenly become incredibly dark, almost as though it were already dusk.

There were two lamp posts at the beginning of the alleyway, one on each side of the road. They were not yet lighted, but some of the lingering light on Main Street reached them, dimly lighting the area. Beyond them, the narrow alley darkened and seemed to stretch on forever.

The girl sat on the porch of a house, trying to protect herself from the rain. Her half-lidded eyes were dull and a little glazed over, transfixed on some point overhead visible to her alone. She was curled up into a tight ball, hugging her legs to her chest, as rain slid down from her every side.

She wasn't used to feeling rain on her head.

She pushed her back against the house's wooden door, trying to seek shelter in the protected area where the rain was blocked by the tight overhead balcony.

It was impossible.

The girl sat on the porch, ignoring the rain as it wetted her hair, drenched her clothes and slid down her collar into her shirt. She knew that seeking comfort and warmth was pointless. She'd never manage.

She didn't deserve it either.

The girl hugged her legs closer and huddled into a tighter ball. Her eyes were looking far off into the distance, as her thoughts, fears and emotions clustered and tried to fight their way into her blank, shut-off mind.

* * *

Craig dashed out of Kenny's house as fast as his legs could carry him. He wanted to thank Kenny and apologize for all he'd done to him, but that wasn't the priority right now. He had to find her. He had to find her before it was too late. He had to take her back.

She was here somewhere. She had to be!

But where? Where?

The rain clouded his vision, but Craig kept running, away from Kenny's house, down Main Street, looking right and left, jerking his head sideways to look every time he saw a smaller street branching from Main.

That was where she'd be. Hiding away from human eyes. But if that was true, how was he supposed to see her as he tore down the street, only throwing glances around?

Craig clenched his fists. He would see her. One glance, no matter how blurry, would be enough.

He'd be damned if he couldn't recognize her, the real Kenny, his best friend… To him a lot more than just that.

But what if she saw him coming? What if she ran away from him?

Craig gritted his teeth.

What if, just when he was about to reach her, she slipped away through his fingers?

What if, what if ..?

Craig opened his mouth and yelled.

* * *

Kenny's eyes flew open and snapped back into focus. For a moment, she looked around her, confused, unable to process the information her eyes were sending her brain. Then, she could see clearly, the pavement, the porch, the streetlight, the rain drops falling all around her. She relaxed and sat back again.

She had heard something. Someone's voice, very close to her. The sound of someone screaming, exasperatedly, trying to release tension and stress and fear.

And she knew who that voice belonged to all too well.

Kenny kept her eyes glued to the ground.

She didn't want to look up.

She didn't want to see him standing there.

Looking at her with hard, unblinking eyes.

She didn't want to see those deep, vacant eyes, piercing through her as though she were invisible. She wouldn't be able to stand his look, stand his silence, that silence meaning so much and yet so little, saying more than words ever could. That disapproving, hurt silence.

And yet, she had to. She couldn't stand not seeing him one more time. Maybe the last.

She had to. She owed it to him, after how much she'd hurt him. She owed it to him to let him have his revenge. His stare was his vengeance.

Kenny slowly lifted her gaze.

He was there, standing and breathing hard. He was drenched, his coat clinging to him, his hair matted over his forehead.

Those eyes of his were already upon her. The girl fought the urge to look away and met his stare evenly.

And yet… His eyes had lost all intensity. They didn't bore through her, but rather rested on her, watching her, drinking in her every feature.

* * *

He'd found her. It hadn't been so hard, really. If only he'd known she was still in town and hadn't already left, he would have been able to find her long ago. It had been that doubt, no, that certainty that he would never be able to find her that had made him wait, linger, without considering going after her.

If only he'd known, he wouldn't have had to beat the other Kenny McCormick half to death, ask him all those questions that had nearly driven him to an exhaust, a breakdown.

He felt so ashamed. He had been so cruel to him, to that poor guy who hadn't done anything wrong, and yet who'd somehow had his whole life ruined by some terrible coincidence.

_I… I'm so sorry… If only I'd known… _

However, this emotion was quickly overruled by another that washed over him, a much stronger and more powerful one he couldn't quite name. Relief? Happiness? Gratitude? Love? He didn't know.

All he knew was that he'd found her. She'd been here all along, so close, and yet so far he'd almost lost her forever. She was there, in front of his very eyes, huddled on a porch, half-hidden from view.

But when he'd passed by, she'd immediately caught his eyes. How could she not? He knew every feature, every nook and cranny of her face, or at least, of the portion of her face he'd seen his whole life. Her eyes, especially. Those shiny, ocean blue eyes. He could recognize them even like this, with his vision clouded over, even now that they were dull and looked away from him.

Those eyes held no secrets to him.

Craig stared at her, silently, as she slowly lifted her head to look at him.

That face… It was so different.

It was as though he were looking at someone else. And yet, he could see it all: the pale skin; that cute nose that stuck out from her face, usually just above the hood; the slightly darker patches of skin directly under her eyes, darkened from the nights her fake parents' yelling or drunken antics didn't let her get to sleep; the pinkish top of her cheeks, that always lifted into her eyes when she smiled; the strands of blond hair that so often squeezed out of the hood in front of her eyes…

Anyone else could've had those, really. It could've been anyone else in the world… And yet, Craig knew it was her. There was no doubt about it. It was really her... Kenny. A thinner, more battered, weaker, dirtier Kenny... But Kenny nonetheless.

Craig felt a sudden stab of pain at the sight of her.

Had Kenny always been like this? Was this girl, sitting wet and battered at the side of the road, what Kenny had truly felt like on the inside? A desperate, lonely girl, with no place she belonged to? All those times she'd grinned at him... Had she been hiding all this pain inside?

How many other feelings, how much loneliness and sadness, had she bottled up inside her for the sake of the act?

For his sake...

Suddenly, the girl turned her head towards him. Their eyes met.

The first thing Craig noticed was the slightly hunted look in her eyes when she lifted her gaze. There was fear. Fear, and yet acceptance.

Craig was taken aback.

What was she afraid of? Could it be.. him? Was she really afraid of him?

Why? What had he done wrong?

An expression of hurt crept onto his face, but he quickly brushed it away. This wasn't neither the time nor the place to be getting offended.

Instead, Craig closed his eyes and relaxed. He took a deep breath, then slowly opened his eyes again to meet her gaze. His eyes softened and his face suddenly broke into a smile. He held his arms out to her.

The fear melted away from Kenny's eyes.

* * *

He'd smiled. He'd smiled at her.

In her whole life, she'd never seen Craig smile, not like this. Not with this expression of perfect happiness.

Kenny's eyes widened. He was smiling at her. His eyes, those eyes she'd been so afraid of, were soft and pleasant.

He hadn't hunted her down to find her and hurt her. He had come to see her. He... He'd come to take her back.

And at this moment, there was nothing Kenny wanted more than that.

He didn't care. He didn't care that she'd been lying to him this whole time. All he cared about was the present. His present, with her in it.

Slowly, Kenny stood up. Her legs wobbled uncertainly, as though unable to lift her.

Suddenly, they gave way beneath her, and she collapsed onto the ground. Her body was too weak. It had been almost a week since she'd last had a "good night's sleep" in her bed at what she'd previously considered to be her home (as good as it could be with her drunken ex-parents screaming loudly downstairs), and goodness knew _how_ long since she'd last had a decent meal that didn't consist in frozen waffles. Craig took a few rushing steps towards her to help her, but she shot him a glare that made him stop dead in his tracks.

She wasn't going to let Craig do everything for her. He always had. For once, just this once, she wanted to do something without having to be helped, without having to rely on him for strength. She was going to reach him on her own two legs.

She gritted her teeth and pushed herself up again.

_Are you a baby or something? Do you need to have someone help you with _everything_?_ she asked herself fiercely, as her matted hair came falling into her eyes, which glinted with concentration and were now contracted into slits.

_HELL NO!_

She stood up, her legs still slightly shaking, but Kenny didn't give a damn. She wasn't weak. She wasn't a baby. She was through relying on Craig for strength. Craig had always protected her, be it bullies or her own parents.

That had to stop.

In those few baby steps it took to reach him, she was proving a point. A point that, maybe, never reached Craig. A point that he may never understand. The point that she'd never use him for her own needs again.

Kenny's eyes were intent on her feet. _One foot in front of the other, little steps, yes, that's it, see you little brat? You can do it perfectly well on your own, and yet you always called him whenever there was any sign of hardship, you little bitch! Okay, one step, two steps, come on, just one more…_

The girl finally looked up. He was there, directly in front of her, his arms outstretched, a smile on his lips.

There was no need for words.

Kenny wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder, and she felt his hands connecting around her back. How long they stood there like that, she didn't know. It could've been a second or a year, it didn't matter to either of them. All that mattered was the comfort of the other in their arms. They'd been separated for so little, and so much had happened… It had felt as though neither would ever see the other again. And yet, here they were now. Together. So much closer than they'd ever been.

There was no need for words. He spoke them anyway.

"Kenny," Craig said, pulling away. Kenny looked up, and he stared her right in the eye, "You will always be Kenny to me. The one and only, irreplaceable, _real_ Kenny McCormick. And nothing will ever change that".

"You're living in denial." Kenny murmured.

"Call it what you want, I couldn't care less. What I care about is you and only you. It's thanks to these lies that we first met. I didn't become friends with you because I thought you were the other Kenny: Hell, I didn't even _talk_ to the guy in third grade! I approached you because of you, how you were, what you said and did, your personality, not because of a name… And if you're not really Kenny, it changes nothing. I'll still always be there for you, no matter what".

"Kenny" nodded, speechless, as tears of joy clouded her vision. Craig wrapped her arms around her again.

"Kenny, I —" Craig started.

"Shh," the girl interrupted him, "Don't say another word".

Craig nodded, and the girl closed her eyes.

She wanted it to stay like this forever… Seeping in Craig's warmth as he held her in his strong arms, lulled by the soft patter of the falling rain.

Finally at peace.


	14. Epilogue: Kenny

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to put this up, you guys! I was busy writing my own story, and then I left for San Francisco, 4 days with no access to the computer... :( Well, the important thing is that it's finally here. I would like to thank Shadow_Right for his idea, which unfortunately I won't be able to use for two reasons: I think a sudden tragedy would be tearing away and discontinuing the direction I'm directed; also, your idea would immediately open up possibilities and call for later chapters of angst, and I want to write an epilogue to wrap things up. Still, I find the idea of a sudden tragedy at the end very interesting, so maybe I could write it as an alternate ending... Tell me what you think!

Until then, here is the epilogue of The Real Kenny, which I sincerely hope you'll like.

Enjoy.

Epilogue

Kenny

"McCormick!".

The teen clad in the orange parka swung round. A tall brunette was running towards him down the hall, waving his arms madly to attract his attention. "Dude, Kenny, wait up!".

Kenny halted and waited for Clyde to reach him and say what he had to say, so he could leave and go about his business. An annoyed expression was painted on his face, that expression that he'd always worn at school ever since meeting Craig. The disastrous encounter with Craig had sucked all the wind out of his sails. When he'd first arrived he'd taken for granted that he'd immediately make friends and live a happy life... Now he wasn't so sure. He hadn't made any friends... Or better, he'd quit trying.

"Have you seen Craig anywhere, man?" the breathless Clyde called out as he came to a stop next to him. The boy flinched at the mentioning of the name, that horrible, horrible name. He flickered his gaze away.

"No." he answered monotonously.

Clyde looked up at him and eyed him curiously.

Kenny looked uncomfortable and his eyes shifted nervously, though the frown, scowl and expression of utter annoyance were still engraved on his pale face.

An outer shell of anger, half-hiding nervousness and fear.

"Hey, you know what?" Clyde asked, a grin forming at the corners of his lips, "You're just like Craig!".

Kenny stiffened.

Craig... Again, the name. He didn't want to hear that name ever again.

He wanted him to disappear from the face of the Earth, crawl in a hole and die somewhere, far away, alone. To pay for what he'd done to him.

And for once, it looked like his prayers might have been answered: Craig had been absent from school for a whole week now.

"Why do you say that?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"An outer shell of strength to hide your own uncertainties." Clyde answered simply, "Trying to be tough when really, you aren't... Being all depressed and thinking there's nothing left for you in the world until something proves you wrong." he added, pointing his index finger into Kenny's face.

Kenny took a step back in surprise. "How-".

Clyde interrupted his question.

"We're not all dumb." Clyde answered, "You think no one understands how you feel, but there's always someone looking over your struggles... There's always someone who notices... Someone who understands".  
Clyde smiled. "You think you can hide everything from us. But really, you two are lousy at keeping secrets".

Kenny looked away.

"You all think you can understand how we feel..." he muttered, "But how would you know? The two of us are the only ones who can understand each other. We are different from you.". He spat, uncertainty turning to anger. "Even your oh-so-wonderful Craig doesn't understand! It's only us! We're on our own!".

"Who is she with now, then? Is s_he_ alone now?" Clyde challenged.

Kenny froze. Of course. Craig.

It was all easy for her. _She_ had Craig.

It was only he who had nothing. Nothing and no one.

His eyes, which had been pointed back to Clyde's face, turned away again.

He was alone. Why was he always alone?

He clenched his fists in anger and anguish. Why? Why was it always him?

Suddenly, he felt an arm sling around his shoulders, resting on the back of his neck.

His hands opened in surprise, and he turned to Clyde, eyes wide. He didn't try to shake the arm off.

The brunette grinned at him.

"Can't let her beat you, can you?" he joked.

Kenny averted his gaze, unaware of the small smile forming at the corner of his lips.

Maybe... Just maybe... Maybe he wasn't so alone after all.

* * *

"Kenny!".

A male voice, breathing hard.

The girl didn't stir. Her eyes were fixed, mesmerized, on the sky. The evening sky was tinged with beautiful shades of pink and orange, growing darker and darker until they reached the sun as it set beyond the distant mountains.

A boy was running towards her. He was out of breath, and the call he had just uttered had knocked all the air out of his lungs. Still, he didn't stop. He was almost there, he had almost reached her...

Suddenly, the boy stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth, opened to call the girl again, quickly shut as she came into closer view, sitting, hugging her knees, on the top of the hill. Her blond hair waving in the wind, her blue eyes twinkling in the dim light of the setting sun.

Craig walked slowly towards her.

There was something peaceful about this scene, so beautiful and delicate that Craig was afraid that if he called her again it would break.

Suddenly, when Craig was only a few feet away from her, Kenny turned her head towards him. She smiled softly.

"Come join me." she murmured, patting the patch of grass next to her.

Craig smiled back and nodded. Quietly, he sat down beside her. Together, they looked back up at the sky.

There they were, two dark figures against the darkening pink sky. Two figures at peace.

"Hey Craig?" Kenny asked, as the sun disappeared, swallowed by the mountains farther away.

Craig turned to look at her and questioningly cocked his head to one side, slightly furrowing his brow.

"We're just misfits, aren't we?".

Craig wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side.

"The best kind." he answered, smiling down at her.

Kenny smiled back, then turned her eyes to their hometown below them.

The two sat in silence once more, on the top of the hill overlooking South Park, the small, white-trash town they'd grown up in and had come to love.

They both looked down at it fondly, as happy childhood memories of life and friends in the Colorado mountain town washed over them.

Neither wanted to leave it behind, but it was the only solution.

There just wasn't room for two Kenny's in South Park.

Craig was going to miss Tweek, Clyde and the gang. He never had thanked that pervert Clyde for all his help... Well, no time for that now. He would send him a postcard one day. He would send them each a card, he decided, for old times' sake. And a letter of apology to that poor fake Kenny too.

The sky was starting to get dark. They had to go.

Craig stood up. Kenny looked up at him with a questioning glance, as if to say, "Already?". He nodded and offered her his hand with a smile.

Again that smile. That smile that, up to a week ago, Kenny had never seen. That expression of pure happiness.

He had smiled more to her this week than he had in a lifetime.

Happiness... So simple and yet so hard to achieve.

What exactly was happiness? Was there any such thing as real happiness in the first place?

"Shall we go?" Craig asked.

Kenny grabbed Craig's outstretched hand and heaved herself up.

The two clasped their hands together and smiled at each other once more.

Yes. This was it. This was happiness.

Perfect happiness.

The two walked away, hand in hand towards their future, and soon disappeared over the hillside.

There definitely wasn't room for two Kenny's in South Park, Kenny thought as they left their hometown behind. But there always would be in Craig's heart.


End file.
